My Five Fingers - Keep Stuff Out

I got my hands on my first Vibram Five Fingers – KSO. w00t!
I have been eying on Vibram Five Fingers for quiet sometime and wanted one for my crazy trekking. Carrying those heavy trek boots was a pain and it gets nasty when it gets wet. Vibram Five Fingers lured me when I first stumbled upon it, especially the pictures on their website. Ever since I got into running and read about the benefits of barefoot running, I wanted to give it a shot, if not for running faster at least to run with fewer injuries.

I read an article (quiet lengthy but very interesting read) last year on how running shoes inhibit the natural motion of our foot and how they contribute to innumerable number of running related injuries. It also explains about heel strike and forefoot strike(Video). The article was backed up by evidences from the Sports medicine team, athletes, coach as well as real life case studies of the Tarahumara Indians who run several 100 miles every day effortless and above all BAREFOOT. There were some serious allegations against companies of the sports shoe industry. Is that why we have Adi-Zero and Nike Free now? I also had a chance to read the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. Very inspiring!

It was very confusing to choose my first pair of VFF. I really like the FLOW which can be used for running during very cold weather and also offered water proof but had to settle with KSO, which I just love btw, reason being my Morton’s toe :(. Though Size 47 would have just fitted me if not for my Morton’s toe I had to go one size bigger. US 13/Size 48 was only available in KSO Black. For me, comfort comes first than looks.  I wanted to try one before buying it. I walked into the nearest store and got lucky to try the only pair of KSO’s they had and it was Size 48. Sweet! It fitted perfectly and all my fingers got tucked into the pockets except for my little finger, it is way too short and it barely got inside the pocket. The store guy allowed me to walk/run around the store. It felt great. I never knew that Black KSO is the ONLY VFF that comes in size 48 and FLOW was still bothering me. I wanted to see if I could find FLOW online but there weren’t any. I walked into the store the next day hoping they haven’t sold the only pair. I was lucky. It was still there. Like Gollum of The Lord of the Rings, I felt like saying “My Precioussss”. :)

I was very excited to try them but I was also aware that I have to take it slow (Read couple of warnings given by VFF users) during my first few runs as my leg would be going through a transition. Tried my VFF on a treadmill for the first time to see how they would feel and decided to run 5K. They felt really good. I could see very evidently that I started landing on my Forefoot instead of striking the heel. It felt perfect.

 

  

(Sorry about the picture quality, will get a better one in my next post)

I took them again for a 6 mile run on pavement, trail, grass and mud. I would say that  it felt much better than running with my sneakers though my shin hurt a bit. I guess it comes with the territory during the first few days of using VFF but I am sure my feet will feel better in the long run. I am planning to wear it for an 8 mile race this weekend and train with them all week for my regular runs.  I am hoping to run my Half Marathon and Marathon with my VFF in a couple of weeks, and if all goes will try for my 50mile too. Time to burn some serious miles!

Running in the snow!

It was snowing all Friday and until Saturday early morning. Gossssh!! It was so gorgeous outside.  Looks like we are going to get lot of snow this weekend. Sweet! I love when it snows. w00t!!  A good five inch snow I believe. I dragged myself out of the bed to go for my run in the gym. A crazy idea struck me. Why not run in the snow today. I have never done that before though I know a lot of runners do. Okie dokie. Let's do it. Got dressed up in layers and wore my Hi-Tec trek shoes. Good time to put the 'Weather proof' feature of the shoe to test. This is how it looks like:

 

 

It was freezing cold. The snow hasn't got hard yet so it wasn't slippery as I expected. Is it really a good idea to run in this snow? I walked till the entrance of the apartment pondering and then just decided to run. I always remember the rule for running on the road, "Run against the traffic".  I decided to run till Percy Priest Dam and back. That's a good 4 mile run. I didn't want to push hard during my first snow run. Roads were in very bad condition and black ice was just starting to show up.  People were very cautious while driving, so I am safe. Couple of them gave me pitiful looks like I am one homeless kid running in the snow. Some gave the "Such a weirdo" glance. Running in the snow was worse than running in the sand, I guess. Breathing cold air was hurting my lungs initially but after the second mile I was just fine and was enjoying my run by now.
I reached the dam and stopped for a while to catch some breath. Man, it was really cold though It felt very good to be out in the snow. There were lots of people outside that I expected. Many stopped by to click pictures by the dam. 

 

 

Ran further down the road for half hour and got back to where the dam's gate opens up. There were lot more people down there having fun snow tubing down the frozen road. They were using inflated tubes, planks, packaging box and anything they could get their hands on to snow tube down the road. It was fun watching them. Wish I had one with me, anyhow I decided to turn back.

“How long have you been running”, a stranger popped that question. Three miles so far and two more miles to go, I replied.  It was Kelly and Susan. She said that’s crazy and I just nodded my head. We struck a conversation. Who I am, where I am from and where do I work etc, etc. When I told them about my work place they mentioned a couple of people and I was surprised when they mentioned “Diane Taylor”. Yes, its my colleague, Diane who has run overt 75 marathons.  “What a small world”! We were talking for a couple more minutes about our upcoming races, exchanged our FB Id's and then I started my run towards home. [Susan, don't forget my ID :)]. Clicked couple of pictures on my way back. Isn't it pretty?

 

  

 

A good half hour run and I was home in one piece. My Hi-Tec running shoes really stood up to the test in keeping my feet warm.  It does hurt a lot to run in the snow especially while breathing. Nevertheless I had a very good time and enjoyed my first experience running in the snow. Time for a hot shower and yummy soup.

Half, Full, 50K and 50M

After Flying Monkey I have been looking for my next marathon. That’s when one of my colleagues introduced to Diane Taylor. What a breath of fresh air she turned out to be! 75 Marathons and Ultra marathons so far. Amazing. She was there for Flying Monkey Marathon as well. Gosh, wish I had met her during that time. She managed to complete Flying marathon in spite of her stress fracture. I found her to be very humble and cheerful. It was very encouraging and inspiring talking to her. The outcome of getting inspired! I signed up for four races. Yeah Four races! Thanks Diane! You rock. 

Right after our conversation she sent me the list of races that she has signed up for the coming months and I was lucky enough to enroll in four of those races well before the registration cut-off. As the title of the post says, the race distance is going to be in incremental order. Starts with Half Marathon and will end with an Ultra Marathon. 

I have never done anything crazy like this before, so it's going to be fun. Here's my race schedule.

Cedars Frostbite Half-Marathon : 13-Feb-10     Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, TN
2010 Mercedes Full Marathon : 14-Feb-10    Birmingham, AL
Black Warrior 50K : 20-Feb-10    Bankhead National Forest - AL
Land Between the Lakes Trail run 50 Miles:13-Mar-10    Grand Rivers, KY

Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted on my survival rate.

Flying Monkey Marathon - 11/22/2009

"Can someone living by Hermitage give a ride to a flying monkey from India?", I posted on Monkey Chatter couple of days before the race. It didn't take long to get a response. John responded back right away offering me a ride. There's always a monkey ready to help another. We met at 6:00am and off we started to Percy Warner Park. It was supposed to rain as per the weather forecast but there was no rain and the weather was just perfect for the long run. After meeting couple of other runners and making friends, I headed to collect my BIB and starter kit. Bib: 712. Starter kit was loaded with a technical full sleeve T-shirt and a half sleeve T shirt, w00t. There was even a flying monkey tattoo :)

Met the RD Trent and thanked him for accommodating me in the race. Humorous guy and sounded as funny as his emails. There were lots of other folks in funny costumes surrounding the theme "flying Monkey". After a brief overview about the race course, the race started on time and the flying monkeys flew.

 

 

What a beautiful race course. It was gorgeous. The first 5 mile was fun and then began the elevation. My assumption about the course went wrong, elevation so steep at some point that everyone started walking but the volunteers were just amazing. Aid stations were loaded with food, GU, Water, Gatorade etc etc. They were cheering us all the way. Some of the volunteers got their kids to watch and support the flying monkeys. It was so good to look at their cheerful face clapping and encouraging us to run. I wanted to finish the race in 4:30 but that seemed to be impossible when I hit the 19th mile at that time. That's another 7 miles to the finish line. The guy who won the race is a machine. It wasn't even a flat course yet he completed it in under 2:30. I didn't really train myself for this elevation. My shin splint was crawling up and at the 22nd mile; I couldn't run a single step.  I did some stretching and walked half a mile which felt a bit better. "Eye of the tiger" was playing loud at the 24th mile, a tempo song to complete the last couple of miles, Sweet. The flying monkey medal started appearing before my eyes. I was in pain. My legs were crying.  C'mon Naresh, last 2 mile and the medal is yours. I could hear the band playing at the finish line by that time. There were lots of people and photographers cheering at the finish line, which felt very good. Pain just vanished for that one moment and there I crossed the finish line. In no time flying monkey medal was hanging on my neck. w00t. Second Marathon, COMPLETED.

After post stretching exercise, picked up some pasta and chilled beer and relaxed for a while. One helluva race and lots of fun. Here’s my Race timing, 13^th in my Age Group.

Time    Oall  AG   SG    Last                           First               Bib  Sex Age   City               State

5:35:55 181  13   122   Kondur Nagabhushan   Naresh Kumar  712  M    27     Nashville        TN

Lesson learnt: Study the course especially if it’s a trail.  Carbo loading and sound sleep the day before the race.

Flying Monkey Marathon

While looking for races around Nashville, the immediate one was on the 22^nd Nov 2009. But the name of the race lured me to register. Flying Monkey Marathon. 

The pictures of the race course through Percy Warner Park was so pretty but then I was so upset when I noticed that the deadline for registration was already over. I wanted to give it a shot though, so I contacted the RD Trent, one of the funniest guys I have ever met, asking if he can accommodate an Indian Flying Monkey in the race and was just waiting…..

October 18, there was a mail sitting in my inbox saying that I can register for the race, w00t! I was so glad looking at the email and registered for the race right away.

I used to hang out in Monkey Chatter reading all the funny emails especially the ones sent by Trent. Hilarious! I used to have my rofl moments reading his email. My first marathon in the US and I am glad it’s going to one cool marathon race. Harpeth hills!! Here comes the flying Indian monkey!

My First Marathon! w00t

And finally...I completed my first full marathon. Aug 30 2009, the day I'll remember forever. It's been almost three months ever since I started running and have always been dreaming to complete a marathon. I am glad I did it. Mixed feelings when I crossed the finish line. Wish I could translate my feelings into words. 42.2 Kms seemed so long and endless. 

Ram and I left Chennai by train to Hyderabad. After a hectic week at work, it was so good and exciting to be out on a trip. I was so tired. Had an early dinner and hit the berth. All I could remember was being woken up by Ram once we reached Secunderabad. After settling down at our friend's place, we went for a run at Necklace Road. It was very pretty. We were running by the Hussain Sagar lake for about 6kms. Later in the noon we went out for sight seeing and Charminar was the first destination, obviously. Later, Paani poori and Samosa and Gokul chat. Yummy! We then went to collect our BIB and Kit. '21' - that was my BIB number. It felt so good. Later we went to watch Kaminey that night along with other friends and then hit the bed.

Got up at 4:00 in the morning and reached the race spot by 4:45. It was a very thrilling moment. To see so many people to run the race. I am not alone in this madness. After our stretching exercise, I was all set to hit the start line. Full Marathon was flagged off at 5:30AM and the race officially started. This is it. No turning back. Run Naresh Run!!

The first few miles felt nothing. The arrangements were very good. Police were holding the city traffic everywhere. The weather was just perfect until Sun started showing up. I was expecting the race to be on a flat course but I was wrong. We also had to run through many loops which was kind of a let down. I was feeling like giving up when I crossed the Half Marathon finish line. Volunteers were suggesting that I can complete my race if I wish.  Those words were all the more tempting but I kept running. I made a promised to myself that I complete this marathon, no matter what, at any cost. The weather was killing and I was drowning in my own sweat. 

Wish I had my Ipod with me. So lonely, so painful yet so good. I was focused on just one thing. To cross the finish line and get my finisher medal. The milestone read 40kms. 2.2 Kms to complete the race. The last stretch of the race, we had to run inside the Gachibowli stadium track. It's almost over. Photographers were clicking shots, a huge crowd standing by to cheer, All my pain vanished at that very moment. Hit the finish line and received my Medal and Certificate. It's over. w00t. I was glad and proud that I finished my first full marathon in 5:45. A very good beginning to my running expedition. Indeed.

Registered for my first Full Marathon

I am in Maryland, US now on business. I don't know what I was thinking when Ram asked me to register for Hyderabad marathon on 31st August 2009. A full marathon. If all goes well, it'll be my first Marathon, a dream come true. I could imagine how great it would be to cross the finish line. I will be returning on the 17th Aug, so I have some time at hand to catch up with training. With the same excitement, I logged into the website to register and again I don't what I was thinking when I registered myself for the Full Marathon. Though I ran two races, 12.1 miles and 7 miles race, trail running while in US, that's no were close to 26.2 miles.

Nevertheless I have registered myself and I want to put myself through it and finish it, NO MATTER WHAT. I so don't want my first Marathon to be a DNF (Running terminology for Did Not Finish). I have several reasons to run this race, several.... Let me see whether I am going to reach that magic number 26.2 Miles!!